Kiwi City International Airport
Kiwi City International Airport is the major gateway to the country of Kiwiland. The airport served a total of 4,275,000 passengers in 2011, making it the busiest airport in Kiwiland and in the whole of Alaska. The airport's runway lengths enable large aircraft such as the Boeing 747 and the Airbus A380 to land. History 1950s In 1952, it was decided that Kiwi City, and Kiwiland, needed an airport instead of traveling to Unalaska Airport. It took two years to build, and originally, the airport had two 6,500 ft runways. At the time the airport was known as the Kiwi City Regional Airport. Then in April 1955, the newly-formed Kiwiland International Airlines (KIA) began operating flights to other islands in the Aleutians as well as Anchorage. 1960s During the jet boom of the 1960s, Kiwi City Airport gradually gained size and was then widely known by many Alaskan airlines. Three other airlines began to operate from the airport in 1963. The President of Kiwiland at-the-time decided that another airport would be needed to handle all the incoming flights. However, a vote throughout Kiwiland did not accept the plans. 1970s KIA leased two Boeing 747's in 1975, which led to the second runway being extended to 12,100 ft, the length it is in the present day. The Kiwi City Regional Airport continued to grow and was renamed Kiwi City International Airport in November 1977 as flights from all over the Pacific were coming in. Rapid development continued and the airport reached 1 million passengers in 1979. 1980s During the decade, the airport's development slowed down. KIA announced the airport as it's hub, which led to many more flights coming in. The first runway was extended from 6,500 ft to 9,500 ft and a third runway was laid down measuring 7,900 ft. In 1989, KIA announced bankruptcy and ceased operations in 1990. During the same year, American Airlines began operating flights from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. 1990s Due to KIA's closure, flights declined for a few months in 1990. However, newly-formed Kiwiland Airways retained all the previous KIA fleet. Kiwiland Airways also operated nearly the same flights as the predecessor. Flight numbers also increased with the introduction of British Airways, Air New Zealand, PenAir and Qantas to the airport in the late 1990s. In 1998, passenger numbers at the airport reached 2 million. 2000s During this decade, rapid development occurred. By 2004, passenger numbers increased to 3 million, even more than Anchorage International Airport. FlyAround Airlines operated at the airport between 2002 and 2005 before declaring bankruptcy. Kiwiland Airways opened a hub at Kiwi City International Airport. In 2004, a new airport in Kiwi City was built after city consensus. This airport was named the Kiwi City Southend Airport, which became an international airport in 2012. In 2009, the passenger numbers increased again to 4 million, setting a new record high. 2010s A new terminal was built in December 2010 to handle with more passenger flights, as well as a new hotel east of the terminal. In June 2012, British Airways announced that they had reduced the flights from the United Kingdom to Kiwi City by half due to the operating costs. In August 2012, the operators of the airport said that they would open a new runway and terminal for business jets. However, this was heavily criticized by local residents saying that the business jets can use Southend Airport instead. In July 2014, the flights to Kiwi City International were reviewed which meant the withdrawal of some routes and the making of others. The terminals were also changed based on what continent or countries your flight was flying to. Qantas, Air New Zealand and British Airways had reduced the number of flights due to operational restrictions. Operators *Kiwiland Airways *American Airlines *Air New Zealand *PenAir *Qantas *British Airways *Sunshine Airlines Destinations Runways Passenger numbers Accidents and incidents *KIA flight 459, a Boeing 737 from Anchorage to KCIA crashed into the runway after thick fog obscured the runway on 12 November 1988. The Kiwiland Air Accident Investigations Association (KAAIA) also stated that the runway lights were not working. *Kiwiland Airways flight 757, a Boeing 747 was hijacked while at gate 33 at KCIA on 4 June 2006. The Kiwi City Police quickly arrested the hijackers and the flight departed one hour later. See also *Kiwi City *Southend Airport